It’s not really as bad as the title implies, but I was grossed out and took a really long shower after my incident. The sheets were in the washer with bleach immediately after showering.
My fearless feline hunter caught and butchered a baby rabbit. This is all well and good, but he left the head on my bed, and when I woke up the first thing I saw was a dead rabbit head staring at me.
This is weird, because he usually eats the head and leaves the body. I did find the body on the kitchen floor in some dried blood later.
Anyway, I have no idea how long I slept next to the head of the rabbit, and was curious if this could cause potential health hazards?
All I know is, I told my baby that if he EVER does it again, the cat door will be closed and he will become an indoor cat.
Not related to the animal being a corpse but keep an eye out for fleas. My dog got fleas twice after killing a rabbit in the winter. Turns out fleas need a place to live in the winter, and nice cozy rabbits are perfect!
If being within a few feet of fresh raw meat was particularly dangerous, I think that humanity would have been extinct a very long time ago. Do you wear a hasmat suit while near the meat counter in your grocery store?
To answer your question, unless you’ve injested blood, the worst likely outcome is fleas or lice, and even then only if you’ve rested on the corpse for an extended period of time. I wouldn’t worry about it.
My murderous feline charges would do this to me if allowed outdoors. That ain’t happening. The worse thing they ever did was puke on my pillow. They cornered a centipede in the laundry room once. That skeeved me out.
Do rabbits carry rabies?
No. They are rarely if ever to be found infected with rabies and have never been known as carriers, and you won’t contract rabies unless through broken skin and even then it is pretty unlikely.
Skin contact with/handling dead rabbits is one way to contract tularemia, which causes flu-like symptoms and skin ulceration at the point of bacterial entry. If the OP doesn’t develop symptoms within a few days (a couple weeks at most), she should be in the clear.
I’m not sure I’d term the disease “easily treated by antibiotics”, since a couple of the main-line agents (streptomycin and gentamicin) carry a significant risk of side effects, some serious (even Cipro which is sometimes used, is not well tolerated by certain people).
I have been in occasional contact with wild rabbits* via gardening activities and survived without incident.
Thanks for the title update And thank you for the answers. I didn’t touch the carcass directly, I used a couple plastic garbage bags from the stores to clean up the body parts.
Maybe I whooshed too soon … I don’t know any House reference … Lepus is the genus name for jackrabbits and hares … Lepus californicus is pest in the Central Valley …
I’ll add to the above - fleas. Any animal a cat brings in is a flea danger. Not just if they drop it on your bed. Once the animal dies the fleas will leave, and go looking for a feed. Fleas are picky to a point. They tend to prefer their host animal, but once hungry they will take anything. They are very mobile, so anywhere in your bedroom is as good as in your bed.
The worst is when your cats bring in a rat or mouse live, and then lose it. Usually the thing dies under your bed or behind a cupboard. You deal with a rotting animal and the likely hungry fleas. Hard won experience here.
Funny, my cats start at the head of rabbits too. They don’t like the ears or the wobbly bits. Often leave just a single paw.
And thank you for the answers. I didn’t touch the carcass directly, I used a couple plastic garbage bags from the stores to clean up the body parts.